


Half

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Demon AU, Demon Kuroo, M/M, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2015-11-15
Packaged: 2018-04-29 06:12:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5118227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You should probably go now,” Suga said, summoning up a dial, typing something in. The portal turned a teal-ish color in the center, transparent. “Just step through and you should be in a forest not too far from Tokyo, Japan.” </p><p>Kuroo nodded hesitantly. It was the first time in a while that he was actually nervous about something. Something about the human realm filled him with anxiety. Maybe it was the fact that he’d meet people who would live such short lives while he’d be left in the dust. Maybe it was that humans were stupid and unpredictable and even without the power of demons they could still do some serious damage.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. He's Here To Help

Provoking the demon king was not the best idea Kuroo had ever had.

And as a result of his stupidity, he had no idea what to do, absolutely no idea.

Kuroo was usually one to just go with it, but now even that wasn’t working for him.

He was scared and confused and just _really needed to get out of there._

There was no telling what would happen to him if he were to get caught, he had gone overboard, just done with Oikawa’s bullshit that he put over the entire dimension of demons. Never had he seen so much rage in one person, and he was _Kuroo,_ the demon famous for provoking others, he had seen so much anger in his years of life, but never to this extent.

He wasn’t welcome in this realm anymore. Hell, they wanted him dead, but Kuroo couldn’t let that happen.

He breathed heavily as he peered around the empty streets. It was too calm for comfort with only florescent lights illuminating the area. It felt like his mind was going to explode, his vision was blurry, lungs choked up, legs feeling like jelly, and there was no way he had time to stop and make himself alright to continue on.

This was something he would just have to deal with if he wanted to make it out alive.

Everyone knows that death for a demon is neither pleasant nor simple.

They had been chasing him for a while, but now he was alone, it felt off. Like they could just jump out of nowhere and imprison the demon, forcing him into cruel conditions.

Cruel conditions for a demons realm.

His mouth was dry and face was hot, his normally tan skin was now pale as a ghost and it could only get worse from there.

He continued running, there was nothing else that could come to mind other than to keep moving.

After running for another four blocks, Kuroo heard a voice, not the evil ones of those chasing him, but one he recognized.

“KUROO!”

It was Daichi.

As happy as he was to see him, there was no way for him knowing what was going on unless…

Word must have gotten out to the entire area, they’d now be on the lookout for the ruthless demon who had the guts to stand up to the king. Or rather, was stupid enough to do so.

Hearing Daichi’s voice didn’t calm him any, but he did stop where he was and turned to the brunet who was looked like a deer caught in headlights.

“Kuroo,” He repeated, this time quieter. “Why are Oikawa’s guards after you?” He demandingly asked, panicked.

“I…” Kuroo’s voice cracked as he stared behind Daichi, making sure they still hadn’t found him. “Oikawa. Oikawa fucked up everything for me and now he wants me dead,” Kuroo had not been this distressed for years, decades even. “I don’t know what to do.” He sullenly concluded.

Daichi stared at him with a furrowed brow. “Kuroo,” He paused, looking behind him where Kuroo had looked seconds before. Daichi pulled him deeper into an alleyway, hiding them more from the streets. “When was the last time you went to the human realm?” He asked, completely serious.

Kuroo wanted to laugh, he had been to the human realm about three times in his life. There was nothing to do there, humans were boring; they lived short lives and worried too much about things that didn’t matter. They only thing Kuroo found even remotely interesting about them was their strange sports. “… A while.” He finally said.

Daichi huffed out a breath of relief. “Suga is supposed to be making rounds within the next few hours, he can take you there, you can hide there, I can keep you updated.”

Suga was a time demon. He warped time, easily traveled between dimensions, and most of all served as a messaging and transportation system. He was constantly in and out of the demon realm, spending most of his time in the human world. Kuroo never understood why, but at that moment it was his saving grace.

“Okay…” He repeated slowly.

The plan was not well thought out, none of it had from the beginning. There is only so much you can plan out on a whim while under the immense amounts of stress. Both had lead armies of people, but none of those problem solving skills were coming in handy at that moment.

Then Daichi was explaining where Suga would come in. There were several portal stations throughout the realm, Suga used all of them. The one he had to find was within a decent distance; however, Daichi said it was one of the most difficult ones to find.

What Suga did was usually done in secret. He was often reporting messages that had to do with power and things that couldn’t even risk getting into the hands of others so he had to be sneaky about literally everything he did.

He was given the directions, but with Kuroo’s ability to find locations and Daichi’s direction-giving skills, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to pull it off.

“I’m sending Suga a note to let him know,” Daichi breathed out, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a writing utensil and paper. After he finished, he threw the paper into the air and said a few words before if ‘poofed’ and was gone, sent to Suga in hopes of him accepting to bring Kuroo to the human realm.

Daichi and Kuroo were friendly rivals. Even though it had been that way for the majority of their lives, Kuroo still always found it surprising when Daichi offered help or showed and empathy for the other demon. He couldn’t have been more thankful at that moment.

Then Daichi was running. He had said something about trying to distract those after him, but Kuroo only heard so much of it, he was so out of it that he could barely pay attention to anything. He was lucky he could remember the directions to the portal opening.

There was no more he could ask, Kuroo was now on his own until he could find Suga. Daichi had said that he would be there within an hour, leaving Kuroo not much time to get to the destination, but he had to make it work. Hopefully if he wasn’t there in time, Suga would have already received the note and just wait there for him. But, with Suga being a time demon, time was always mixed up with him, he could either get it right away or in a few years, it was always a gamble sending things to him when he wasn’t in the demon realm.

All Kuroo could do was hope. So that’s what he did. He took a deep breath and started making his way out of the urban part of the city, quickly going into the forest that surrounded and forcing his way through plants.

The forest there wasn’t safe. The plants were alive and dangerous, the animals that lived freely saw everything as fair game. There was a reason that a crucial portal was hidden there.

Kuroo found it much harder than he had anticipated. He was so deep into the forest that he couldn’t tell which way he had come from and which way he was going, enveloped in strange trees and other plants that looked questionable.

“Kuroo?” A quiet, mellow voice said right as he was about to give up.

Kuroo let out a breath of relief, turning towards a voice he never thought he’d be so happy to hear.

“I got Daichi’s message.” He stated with a warming smile.

“So can you do it?”

Suga sighed. “I mean I guess.” He said. “If it’s Daichi’s request then I suppose it’s okay…” He muttered. Kuroo knew that Suga was a busy demon, he didn’t have much time to stop and chat. He was surprised that Daichi and him could keep up their friendship

Hearing Suga’s answer was music to Kuroo’s ears. “Really!?”

Suga nodded slightly before turning in the direction that he had come from, beginning to walk. He had signaled Kuroo to follow, but he was so out of it that it took him a second to realize what was happening.

"You're worried about something." Suga stated without sparing a glance, focusing on the path ahead of them.

Kuroo hesitated before answering. "Did Daichi say something?"

"Daichi's always really brief, he only said you needed to go to the human realm."

He didn't exactly want to explain to Suga, but at this point Suga was going to be the one that saves him so he at least owed him that, right? So, he opened his mouth taking a breath to start the story all over again—

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Suga stated.

Kuroo was grateful; he quickly shut his mouth, pursing his lips. "Okay."

He was pretty sure it was just that Suga didn't exactly care, mothering was just built into him so he did it without thinking. It wasn’t a bad thing, but Kuroo didn’t want to bore Suga with things he didn’t care about, especially if he was going to be the reason he escaped.

"How long is this going to take?" Kuroo asked after about three more minutes of walking. Just how far was this portal anyways?

"Almost there."

Kuroo sighed and slumped his shoulders.

Soon enough, they came across a large arc made from cement bricks, wrapped in vines. It was really happening, Kuroo was about to go hide in the human realm for who knows how long.

What was he going to do? He had no plans, knew no one over there that was still alive, he'd be on his own.

"You're going to want to be in your animal form," Suga said, as if reading his mind. "It makes your scent less noticeable plus you won't have to deal with those weird human rules."

Kuroo stared at him.

“But if you need help, my friend Bokuto lives in the human realm.”

“A demon that lives in the human realm?” Kuroo asked, disgusted.

Suga didn’t even falter. “He’s weird, don’t ask me.”

A few moments of silence passed.

“You should probably go now,” Suga said, summoning up a dial, typing something in. The portal turned a teal-ish color in the center, transparent. “Just step through and you should be in a forest not too far from Tokyo, Japan.”

Kuroo nodded hesitantly. It was the first time in a while that he was actually nervous about something. Something about the human realm filled him with anxiety. Maybe it was the fact that he’d meet people who would live such short lives while he’d be left in the dust. Maybe it was that humans were stupid and unpredictable and even without the power of demons they could still do some serious damage.

He backed up, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, letting the scent and sounds of his home sink in one more time. Then he opened his eyes, stared straight at the portal, and sprinted towards it, leaping in when he was about three feet away.

Suga had tried to yell something after him, probably something about doing that being unnecessary, but Kuroo couldn’t really care at that point.

For a brief second, he was traveling through a vortex made of too many colors for Kuroo to name. But, he didn’t have time to dwell on in because before he knew it he was toppling out of the portal, landing in bushes with incredible force.

He grunted in pain, looking behind him to see the portal starting to close up, and eventually the doorway went away as well.

Well, he was in a forest, Suga was right about that. He said it wasn’t far from Tokyo but… Kuroo could only see trees in front of him, and if he remembered correctly, Tokyo was a pretty lit up, noisy city. If Suga had been trying to prank him, if he had actually been in on capturing Kuroo—

Kuroo remembered that Suga had said to turn into his animal form so his scent wouldn’t be as strong, right, Suga couldn’t have been on it.

Kuroo stood, breathing heavily as he looked down at his body. It had been so long since he’d been in that form, he was actually kind of nervous about transforming into it. But, he was more nervous about getting caught, so that didn’t exactly matter.

He clenched his fists, saying a few words.

Nothing happened.

Kuroo frowned and furrowed his brows, looking around himself. Why wasn’t he a cat? He had said the words right.

He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to put all his concentration into turning into the cat.

Again, nothing happened.

Panicked, Kuroo turned around to look at the portal, see if he could go back and see if he had done something wrong. But not even the door for the portal was there anymore, Kuroo was left alone in the forest, looking like a human. A human that had some… strange features.

There was no way he’d be able to fit in like that.

He grumbled to himself as he began to wonder around the woods, hoping to find something at some point. Fortunately, Suga was right and it wasn’t that far from the city, but Kuroo didn’t know if it was Tokyo, but at that moment it didn’t really matter.

Or maybe it did. If Kuroo decided he needed help from Bokuto he had no idea where he’d start to look, he didn’t really have a clue in the first place but he would be even further away from a solution than before.

There was no time to worry about it, all he had to worry about was getting as far away from where he had come into the realm as possible. The further away he was from a portal, the less likely he was to get caught. But, being lost in the city was no fun either.

Kuroo hadn’t gotten there at the best of times. While he did prefer the dark, it wasn’t the best condition to be walking around in, especially if the place was unfamiliar. Not only that, but night time was when all the creatures came out. Whether they be dangerous or not, it wasn’t always the most welcoming sight. If he had started to freak out then people would have thought he was crazy because the human brain does not have the mental capacity to allow such horrific things into one’s mind.

Kuroo huffed, looking around himself. It wasn’t like he had human currency, he couldn’t just buy something, he was beginning to think he’d have to stay out in the streets.

Still, he wandered and wandered just in case some magical money decided to pop up. Of course, it didn’t, but it also gave him something to do and gave him time to think without sitting in one place for a long amount of time. He guessed that if he stayed somewhere too long that it’d be easier to find him. He didn’t want that, that’s why he went to the human realm in the first place.

It wasn’t surprising, but, Kuroo received strange looks due to his appearance. He was willing to admit that he was fairly attractive, but that’s definitely not what people were looking at. His horns stuck out of his head, they weren’t very tall, but still visible. He had been wearing a cape as well, not his best fashion choice. And due to Kuroo’s natural expression from being raised in the demon realm, people were clearing the way for him as he had an intimidating frown on his face, and he was distraught so that just added to the stress, making his expression even deeper.

About an hour later was when Kuroo saw his first creature. A shadow figure following a group of people, Kuroo didn’t know its intentions and he didn’t want to stick around to find out. Creatures and demons had a history of working together, so Kuroo wasn’t 100% sure if it was okay to be seen by one, but he’d rather not risk the chances. Quickly, he slid into the nearest shop which happened to be a convenience store. He ducked under the aisles of objects, making his way to the back of the store.

He pretended to be interested in the drinks sitting in coolers, really just trying to figure out what to do. It was night time, which, again, was creature’s hours, Kuroo didn’t feel safe out there.

A bell, signifying another customer, rung while Kuroo thought. He didn’t really pay attention to it for it was someone random who didn’t mean anything to him.

Or so he thought.

The stranger was tapping on Kuroo’s shoulder, breaking him out of thought and turning to him, about to yell. However, the look of them told him not to. He was intimidating but a few inches shorter than he was, he had hair that reminded him of an owl and those demonic eyes… Kuroo stopped himself and began to sniff, looking for that smell that told you who was what species.

“You doing okay?” He finally spoke. “You’ve been wandering around like a lost puppy.”

Kuroo glared skeptically. It was very obvious that the stranger was staring at his different features, but he didn’t have the usual _what the hell are those_ face, but more as it was something he saw on a regular basis. “I’m fine…” Kuroo muttered out.

He sighed and raised an eyebrow. Before Kuroo knew it, the stranger had grabbed Kuroo by the wrists and began pulling him out of the store, ignoring the clerk yelling after him and Kuroo struggling against the grasp.

He didn’t let go until they were clear out of sight, in a dark alleyway.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” Kuroo yelled, rubbing his wrists.

Then the stranger started laughing and Kuroo was confused beyond belief.

“What?”

The stranger took a few moments before settling down from his laughing. “I can’t believe you wore that here.” He had the biggest grin, it wasn’t evil but could be if he wanted it to.

“Excuse me..?”

“You’re Kuroo, right?”

“Um…”

“Don’t worry, I’m not out to get you.” He said, his smile from before becoming warm and welcoming. “I’m Bokuto, Suga probably mentioned me. I’m here to help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I'm planning for this to be 10 chapters at least, I have the first few written and am going to try to post once a week
> 
> THANK YOU TO [MADS](suzuyajuuzoux.tumblr.com) FOR THE FIC TITLE
> 
> Thank you for reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated!!


	2. Living Arrangements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “My friend, Tsukki, his roommate had to move out to go back to uni so now he’s living alone and I already have a roommate so I was thinking—“
> 
> “You want me to room with a human?”
> 
> “Well, yeah, I mean he doesn’t do much, he wouldn’t disturb you but it wouldn’t kill him to be more social. He doesn’t like people so he doesn’t have many friends so I think it would be nice if you were to befriend him, the more human friends you have here, the more your scent will fade.”
> 
> Kuroo set the clothing onto the bed he stood near before pinching the bridge of his nose and breathing out. “Where does he live?”

“ _Wait_.” Kuroo said sternly. But, it was far too late for that, Bokuto had already dragged him away from the alley and Kuroo had let him in his surprised state without thinking. “Where are you taking me?”

Bokuto stopped and let go of his wrist, turning to face the other. “Well, I said I was helping you so that’s what I’m gonna do.”

Kuroo furrowed his brow. “Okay, but how..?”

“That,” He grabbed his wrist once again and began pulling forward. “You will find out once we get there.”

So, there he was, being blindly dragged into something he knew no information on. How did he even know this was the real Bokuto?

“I am the real Bokuto, not some spy, really don’t worry.”

Embarrassed, Kuroo’s face turned red. “How did you hear that?”

Bokuto laughed. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

_Yeah, that’s why I asked…_ Kuroo thought, still going along with whatever Bokuto was getting him into.

It wasn’t much longer until Bokuto stopped in front of a large, rundown building. “Alright,” Bokuto placed his hands on his hips and faced Kuroo. “First, you’re gonna come in my apartment and we’ll do something about those clothes, they’ll probably fit fine but I’ll take you shopping to get your own some other time.”

“What do you mean..?” What was wrong with what he was wearing? Sure it was strange but it was comfortable and that’s all that Kuroo really cared about.

“Kuroo, it looks like you came from a renaissance festival, we need to do something about it.” He deadpanned before, once again, taking hold of Kuroo, this time dragging him into the front doors of the building and then to an elevator.

Kuroo had heard of them but never actually been in one. He didn’t think it could be that bad, but then he actually stepped in and the doors closed and suddenly he was in this small moving box.

“WHAT IS THIS?!” Kuroo yelled, hanging onto the sides for dear life.

Once again, Bokuto was laughing at him. He didn’t even bother to answer this time as for shortly it had stopped and Kuroo was leaping out of the strange box.

Bokuto didn’t bother grabbing Kuroo again, obliging him to follow. A few doors down, Bokuto pulled a pair of keys out of his pocket, jamming it into the lock and pushing open. He signaled for Kuroo to follow so he followed.

“Why is it so grungy?” He asked, scrunching his nose.

“Because purchasing a place to live in the human realm is not as simple as it is back home.” Bokuto said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Kuroo didn’t bother to respond as he followed Bokuto into another room where there was a dresser. Bokuto began digging through it until he pulled out a shirt and pair of pants.

“You need to do something about your horns so… spike your hair up or something.” Bokuto explained.. Kuroo spent time every morning trying to tame his hair, this wouldn’t come as a problem if he just stopped doing things to it

“What did you do with yours?”

“Styling gel goes a long way.” Bokuto laughed, still digging through drawers.

 “So, I’m still trying to understand your thinking.” Kuroo commented casually. He was trying to look into Bokuto, but he was unreadable, his body language said different things than what he said and how he talked, he was a confusing being and Kuroo didn’t like it.

“Alright,” Bokuto turned and shoved more clothing into Kuroo’s arms. He stepped back, admiring what he had just done before continuing. “My friend, Tsukki, his roommate had to move out to go back to uni so now he’s living alone and I already have a roommate so I was thinking—“

“You want me to room with a human?”

“Well, yeah, I mean he doesn’t do much, he wouldn’t disturb you but it wouldn’t kill him to be more social. He doesn’t like people so he doesn’t have many friends so I think it would be nice if you were to befriend him, the more human friends you have here, the more your scent will fade.”

Kuroo set the clothing onto the bed he stood near before pinching the bridge of his nose and breathing out. “Where does he live?”

-

-

Bokuto was once again dragging Kuroo somewhere, like it had somehow become routine. However, now Kuroo wore more modern clothing, a t-shirt with owls on it and baggy jeans, he knew it didn’t fit him but he didn’t really have any room to argue. Oh wait, he did, he could have stayed in the perfectly fine clothes he already had.

“So, does this “Tsukki” know about you being a demon?”

“Kuroo, Kuroo, Kuroo,” He said dramatically. “First rule of befriending humans: don’t let them know you’re a demon, it’s like demon 101.”

“Well I mean you don’t exactly seem like the person who follows rules…” Kuroo grumbled just low enough that only himself could hear, he was just bitter about having to leave his comfortable things behind.

They were back in the elevator that Kuroo was still somewhat terrified of and Bokuto was still laughing about. Instead of going down, though, they went one more floor up, so that meant that it wasn’t as long of a ride this time but it meant they were higher up so longer ride when they do decide to go back down.

Bokuto had walked ahead and was knocking on the door that his own apartment would have been on the floor below. They waited a few seconds before they heard shuffling behind the threshold and then the lock turning and the door opening.

A blond with glasses as tall as Kuroo peered out with a bored expression. “What is it now?” He muttered, looking at Bokuto and not even sparing Kuroo a glance.

“I found you a new roommate.” Bokuto grinned, pushing the door open. The other didn’t put up a fight so it opened quickly and easily and Bokuto walked it. Kuroo awkwardly remained where he was, not knowing whether to follow or not. He didn’t know if he was welcomed in the new person’s home.

“Doors are there for a reason, come in or stay out, just close it.”

Startled by the blunt comment, Kuroo stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind him, then remaining where the door was and the other rolled his eyes while Bokuto made himself at home.

“Tsukki, this is Kuroo,” He pointed. “And I vote for him to become your new roomie.”

“I don’t want a new roommate, Bokuto.”

“Tsukki, even you need someone to talk to.”

“I’m talking to you right now, aren’t I? And you don’t live with me.” He smirked slyly and Bokuto frowned at him.

“Smartass comments aside, Kuroo needs somewhere to live, you’re living alone, I already live with Akaashi.”

He sighed. “Please don’t get him calling me Tsukki, you, and Yamaguchi are enough,” He looked to Kuroo. “Please call me Tsukishima.”

“Tsukki—“

“If you can bake me a strawberry shortcake then I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you, Tsukishima.” Kuroo said quietly, stepping in a bit further. He didn’t even know what a strawberry shortcake was, much less how to make it.

Bokuto looked at him apologetically. He knew that Kuroo knew nothing about human food.

“Do you have the ingredients?”

“Yeah, probably, just check the cupboards.” Tsukishima waved him off and Kuroo began to brace himself for the disaster about to come.

-

-

It was a disaster, and that was putting it lightly.

They left Kuroo alone in a kitchen with devices he had never even heard of.

Nonetheless, he wasn’t expected to ask for help, so he didn’t. But, in retrospect, he should have put his pride aside before making a mess of Tsukishima’s kitchen.

“ _Oh my god_!” Kuroo yelled as everything in the thing-i-mi-jig splattered everywhere. _Everywhere._

Tsukishima rushed into the kitchen with Kuroo right behind.

“What the hell did you do?! _Why are you using a blender to try and mix your ingredients_?!” Tsukishima yelled back, he looked angry and Kuroo couldn’t blame him.

He couldn’t tell if Bokuto was behind Tsukishima hiding his face in disappointment or trying not to laugh.

“Because I don’t know how to do this!”

“Well, you should have told me that _before_ you made a mess of our kitchen!”

“Hold up, hold up,” Bokuto said, taking his hands from his face. “You said ‘our’, so does that mean you’ve accepted Kuroo as the new addition to the Tsukishima household?”

Tsukishima frowned. “You make it sound like we just got married.” He sighed and faced Kuroo, only mild annoyance filling his face. “But, yeah, I mean I guess. I can’t pay for this place by myself, so…” He trailed off.

Kuroo was about to speak but Bokuto quickly cut him off, kind of panicked. “Great! He’ll move in tomorrow!” He grabbed Kuroo by the wrist. “But for now we gotta go so we can get his things!”

Bokuto was dragging Kuroo out of the apartment and he swore he could hear Tsukishima muttering something about how much he hated the human race behind them.

Once the door was shut behind them and they were a fair distance away from the door, Bokuto stopped and made Kuroo face him. “We need to get you an ID and a job.” He said seriously.

“Well—“

“I know Akaashi’s place is hiring but now we need to get you some sort of ID… I’ll need to talk to Kenma about that…” Bokuto muttered to himself. While still talking to himself, Bokuto wandered down the hallway back to the elevator, he pressed the button and waited, furrowing his brows and unfurrowing multiple times.

Kuroo sighed as he followed, about to let himself back into the moving death box.

Once they were inside and Bokuto had pressed the button, he stood back and clapped his hands together. “Okay, so I’m going to be able to get you a job, probably an ID, but I’m pretty sure you still know nothing about humans.”

“You would be correct about that.”

Bokuto bit his lip and placed his hands on his hips until the elevator came to a stop and the two were walking out back to Bokuto’s apartment. Once the door was open and both were inside sitting on the couch was when he spoke again.

“Well, hanging around humans will probably teach you best, and being around them will make their scent wear off on you so you’ll be harder to detect.” Bokuto paused. “Uh, generally humans try not to be dicks to each other, or more you should try to not be a dick to anyone so manners are, like, required for you right now. If you didn’t already know, Akaashi is a demon too so you’ll be able to go to him for help as well, he’s better with the “ _proper_ ” aspect of things. Um—“

“I heard my name.” Said a blunt tone from the door. A raven haired male, average height but still shorter than Kuroo, walked in, shucking off his jacket and hanging it on the coat rack and slipping off his shoes.

“Akaashi!” Bokuto said enthusiastically, jumping up from his seat and almost running to the others. “This is Kuroo, he’s gonna be rooming with Tsukki!”

Akaashi furrowed his brows as he looked at Kuroo, cupping his hand by Bokuto’s ear and leaning in to whisper something.

Bokuto nodded a few times. “I’ll catch you up on his story later.”

Akaashi frowned at the loud tone, announcing what he had tried to be discreet about.

“Anyways, we need to do some sort of ice breaker for Kuroo and Tsukki because we know how Tsukki is with new people.” He continued.

“Honestly, just take him to that diner like two blocks away, they have killer strawberry shortcake, it’s the way to gain Tsukishima’s attention if you really need it.” Akaashi said, passing Bokuto to sit on one of the other pieces of furniture.

He sighed and grabbed a remote sitting on a small table behind him, turning on the television, signifying that the conversation was over and that there would be no further explanation.

-

-

Kuroo found himself once again in front of Tsukishima’s door. He had been in that elevator a total of four times now and he didn’t see that routine stopping any time soon. After three knocks (Like Bokuto had said to do), Tsukishima’s door opened and he looked at Kuroo.

“Hey, do you want to go get something to eat? Like, at that diner not far from here?” He asked.

“Not really.”

And then the door was shut in his face. Kuroo had no idea what to do about that, all he knew was that he was supposed to have a meal with Tsukishima.

So, he raised his fist again and knocked three times.

Tsukishima opened the door and sighed heavily. “What?”

“Will you come with me and get something to eat?” Yeah, maybe it was the way he worded it.

“I already said no, leave me alone. It’s my last few hours without a roommate, I’d like to enjoy them in peace before I have to deal with someone every day.”

Kuroo frowned, he was just trying to do what he was told and Tsukishima was shooting him down. All he wanted was to get to know his new roommate, see how he operated and see if Kuroo could apply any of that to himself. But, it was very difficult when the subject of interest wasn’t cooperating.

“You can leave now,” Tsukishima stated, however neither of them moved.

“But Bokuto said—“

“Listen,” He sighed. “What Bokuto says doesn’t always mean it’s what you should do, I’m assuming you guys have been friends for a while so that shouldn’t really surprise you unless you’re as stupid as he is. He should know from firsthand experience that bothering me when I don’t want to be bothered is not the best idea.”

“But—“

“ _No._ ”

And the door was shut in his face once again.

Defeated, Kuroo made his way back to Bokuto’s apartment, knocking on the door and hoping not to be rejected by another person. When the door was opened, Bokuto sighed in relief as he pulled Kuroo in.

“Thank the gods he rejected you,” Bokuto laughed. “You don’t have any money, if he accepted I’m not sure how you’d be able to pay.”

“But—“

“Another tip, not all money in the human world is the same so your currency from the demon realm won’t work.”

Bokuto held out a few bills which Kuroo snatched before turning around and trudging away, grumbling about the stupidity of the world he had been in for less than a day.

Once again, he was knocking at Tsukishima’s door.

“Please leave.” Tsukishima didn’t even open it this time, he just said it through the door.

“Please,” Kuroo huffed out. “Just get some food with me, I’ll pay.”

Finally, Tsukishima opened the door and stared at Kuroo skeptically. “Fine…”

-

-

The two sat awkwardly across from each other at the diner that had been mentioned. Kuroo had no idea what to say and apparently Tsukishima didn’t either, or he didn’t want to, Kuroo was still confused as to whether Tsukishima was just awkward or uninterested. He was hoping it was the former.

“So, how long have you been living in Tokyo?” Kuroo finally asked, breaking the silence.

“Not important.” Tsukishima sighed, staring at the plate of strawberry shortcake sitting in front of him. “This is so much better compared to that atrocity you created earlier.”

“I have no doubt that it is.” Laughing slightly, Kuroo wrapped his fingers around the cup of coffee he had ordered for himself. Since he was still new to the human world, he wasn’t exactly sure what kinds of foods or drinks he would like, all he knew was that coffee was like a drug to humans, they all drank it so it must be good, right?

Well, it wasn’t good and a complete waste of money.

“So, I hear you had a roommate before me? Who were they?”

“Friend.”

Kuroo raised an eyebrow. He knew Tsukishima was giving him blunt answers on purpose and it made him feel angry but of course he couldn’t tell him to stop, Kuroo just needed to get some kind of information out of him that could prove they’d be able to get along. Either way, he’d be forced into living with him and he’d rather have an okay relationship instead of none at all.

Tsukishima smirked, apparently Kuroo’s thoughts had been showing on his face. “So, what made you decide to move here?”

So now he was the one asking the questions. Kuroo wanted to say something else but didn’t want to upset Tsukishima so he decided to go along with whatever was happening. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while and just recently got the money to do so.” He said nonchalantly.

The smirk on Tsukishima’s face dropped, like he hadn’t been expecting Kuroo to abide to the question.

“What about you?”

He stayed quiet for a few seconds before answering. “Same as you, I guess…” Tsukishima mumbled, staring at the cake that sat in front of him.

“How?”

“I don’t know what you mean by that.”

“How’d you do it?”

Tsukishima paused, biting his lip. “The friend I mentioned.”

“How?”

“Because we’re friends? I really don’t know what kind of nerve you’re trying to strike, Kuroo, but I don’t like it.”

Kuroo frowned and held his hands up in defense. “Nothing, I’m just trying to get to know you better considering we’re going to live together, is all.”

“We’re going to live together, not become best friends, okay?” Tsukishima said through gritted teeth.

“Woah, woah, please calm down, I’m not trying to be mean,” Kuroo said slowly. “I’m sorry if I said something wrong, I just generally like to know who I’m living with.”

“I’m Tsukishima Kei, I’m 19 years old, and I hate people. That’s all you need to know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaannndd finally Tsukki comes in
> 
> i wrote this chapter about two weeks ago so if there are any mistakes or anything then feel free to point them out//
> 
> i hope you enjoyed, thank you for reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated!!
> 
>  
> 
> [my tumblr](http://hqhaikyuu.tumblr.com)


	3. I'm on Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “WHAT DID YOU DO?!”
> 
> “I DON’T KNOW! IT JUST KINDA HAPPENED!”
> 
> “WELL FIX IT!”
> 
> “HOW DO I DO THAT?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there are a few parts of this chapter i'm not too sure of honestly, i just needed to get that part out of the way but yeah, enjoy :-)

“Is there a reason Bokuto spontaneously decided to buy you all of these clothes?”

Kuroo shrugged as he set down the multiple, multiple bags that Bokuto had definitely gone overboard with. “He insisted.”

Tsukishima snorted. “Probably so you’d owe him something.”

Day three of Tsukishima and Kuroo living together: It wasn’t as bad as Kuroo had initially thought it would have been. Apparently he had just been in a bad mood the few days ago they had gone to the diner. Or Tsukishima was starting to get used to him.

Either way, it was a good thing.

Kuroo hadn’t needed to buy many things to fill his place, whoever Tsukishima had been rooming with before had apparently left all of their things. It helped Kuroo out, but it still didn’t keep him from questioning more about this roommate Tsukishima refused to talk about.

“Have you gotten a job yet?” Tsukishima asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Bokuto said he was working on getting me one.”

“Again with Bokuto helping you out so much, I don’t understand why he’s doing it.”

“Maybe he just wants to be nice?”

Tsukishima mockingly laughed. “Since when do people do things just to be nice?”

Wasn’t that something humans did, though? They helped each other out? Kuroo had learned that humans were selfish… but not that selfish. Bokuto was a demon, but Kuroo had guessed that he had lived in the human realm long enough for all these traits to rub off on him.

Kuroo had no way of responding so he just simply shrugged and carried the bags to his room, setting them on the small bed that he had taken. Surprisingly, Tsukishima followed him and rested against the wall, crossing his arms.

“Where’d you live before here?” He asked.

Kuroo paused. He didn’t know any of the other towns in Japan. “Oh, you know, a small town that no one really knows about.”

Tsukishima raised an eyebrow skeptically before taking a deep breath and pushing off the wall. “If you didn’t want to talk you could have just said so.” Then he was walking out of the room, into his own and shutting it immediately.

Kuroo frowned. He didn’t know what he had done wrong, but it was obviously something. Or maybe Tsukishima was just being moody again, like Kuroo had noticed he tended to do.

There was really no point in going after him. Kuroo had learned within the few days he lived with Tsukishima that it was best to leave him alone for a little while before trying to talk to him again once he seemed agitated.

After he finished putting his clothes in the closet he sat on the edge of his bed, putting his face in his hands. Pretending to be human wasn’t as easy as he had initially thought. He thought that humans lived simple lives, and to some extent they did, but because they made such big deals about everything just put a lot of stress on any event that happened.

Tsukishima being moody about this kind of stuff threw Kuroo off. It wasn’t something he was used to. Back in the demon realm, when someone would become agitated it was within reason, not for strange reasons or just randomly. Like the reason Kuroo was in trouble, he did something utterly stupid and it was reasonable for Oikawa to be mad about it.

Kuroo sat on the bed for a good few minutes before standing up and walking to Tsukishima’s door. He knocked quietly and when there was no answer he knocked a bit louder. Footsteps padded towards the door and opened a crack barely showing Tsukishima’s eye peeking from behind.

“Can I help you?”

“I just wanted to check on you, see if you were okay.” Another thing he had learned: Humans generally enjoy talking about their feelings so it’s best to ask and see if they open up.

“Fine.”

“That’s good…”

Silence stood between them for a few seconds before Tsukishima sighed. “You can go do whatever now.”

Kuroo frowned as the door clicked shut. He turned and walked towards the front door, about to make his way to Bokuto’s.

When he knocked on the door, Akaashi answered.

“Did you need something?” Akaashi asked, reminding Kuroo of the tone Tsukishima had used.

“Um,” Kuroo wracked his brain for what he was about to say, the sound that Akaashi had used threw him off. “Tsukishima is being weird.” He finally said.

Akaashi stepped aside to let Kuroo into the apartment. When he walked in he found Bokuto lounging on the couch.

He smiled at Kuroo. “Hey there!”

“Can you help me?”

Bokuto’s face turned neutral and he stood. “Yeah, what’s up?”

“Tsukishima gets moody a lot.” Kuroo started. “He’ll talk to me and I’ll answer and I guess I’m answering wrong because a lot of times he’ll make weird comments about how I should just tell him if I didn’t want to do something and he’ll just leave and lock himself in his room. It’s confusing.”

“I see,” Bokuto hummed. “It’s just how humans are sometimes, there’s nothing really to do about it.”

“Or,” Akaashi cut in. “You could sit down and think about why he’s doing it. Tsukishima’s generally a moody person, it’s kinda his instinct, he doesn’t like people so when he tries and doesn’t get the result he expects he just sort of shuts down and tries to get out of it as fast as he can.”

“You just gotta keep asking Tsukki until he gives in!” Bokuto interrupted.

“No,” Akaashi sighed. “That’s the opposite of what you need to do. You gotta let him approach you, Tsukishima is a like a small animal, spooked easily and difficult to gain trust from.”

Kuroo cocked his head to the side in confusion.

“Just take my word for it, okay? Tsukishima is an unpredictable kind of person. Someone you need to learn specifically how to read.”

“Right.” Kuroo responded, furrowing his brows as he thought about ways he could go about this.

“Anyways,” Akaashi said, changing the topic. “Bokuto mentioned how you needed a job, so as of now you’re working at Fukurodani book store.”

-

-

When Kuroo finally returned, Tsukishima was in the kitchen making himself something to drink.

“Hey.” Kuroo greeted quietly, slipping off his shoes.

Tsukishima took a sip of his drink, briefly looking at Kuroo before averting his gaze. “Hi.”

“I’m sorry if I did something to upset you.”

“You didn’t.”

An awkward silence stood between the two once again and Kuroo pursed his lips as he thought about topics to talk about. He hated this. Kuroo was generally talkative, others have told him to shut up because he just kept going on and on until someone finally had it.

Tsukishima threw him off so much. It was a challenge and Kuroo found it strange but… he liked it in a sense.

“I got a job.” Kuroo finally said.

“Oh, that’s cool.” Tsukishima responded, uninterested.

Kuroo knew that Tsukishima was giving the body language of not wanting to speak but he continued nonetheless, trying to figure out more about him. “It’s at Fukurodani book store.”

“I see.”

“I never asked but, do you have a job?”

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. “No, I live here for free.” He said sarcastically. “Of course I have a job.”

“Oh, where?”

“Not important.”

Kuroo frowned. “If you didn’t want to talk, you could have just said so.” He repeated Tsukishima’s own words right back to him, turning and making his way to his room and shutting the door behind him.

He had run out of ideas of how to have a single conversation without Tsukishima becoming agitated and to no avail he was failing.

There was nothing to do in his room though, it was empty and boring so all Kuroo did was stare at the ceiling as he lay on his bed. He wasn’t sure how Tsukishima reacted to the “taste of his own medicine” but Kuroo didn’t really feel like finding out for another few hours. Another thing he had learned: Sometimes it’s better to let people cool down before trying to talk to them.

Kuroo had learned more about humans from living in the human realm for three days than he had in his twelve years of schooling.

He ran his hands through his hair, feeling his small horns that he had almost forgotten he had. Kuroo knew he didn’t belong there and wondered if it was really worth it, or if he should just find a way to go back and take the consequences that came with his actions. With how long he had run away, Kuroo wouldn’t have been surprised if they tried to make his punishment worse.

As he was deep in thought, a piece of paper ‘poofed’ right in front of him, dropping down and hitting him in the face.

Kuroo grunted, not so much in pain but more of a surprise. Being in the human realm made him forget about so many things, magic being one of them. He scrunched his nose as he picked the piece of paper off of his face, uncrumpling it from the ball it was in.

 _Kuroo—_  
Oikawa has made it nationally known that they’re looking for you, there are wanted posters everywhere on anything you can name. I’m still not sure what you did but I know you’re stupid so it must have been something. Anyways, I’d stay in the human realm for a while, I’ll try and keep you updated but no promises because I’m not sure if they’re going to start monitoring mail.  
Stay safe.  
–Daichi 

Of course. Of course now that he knew if he went back the punishment would be worse so no going back.

He groaned, throwing the note and rubbing his hands on his face.

Nothing was working out for him, not that he wasn’t used to that, but even more so now. So, like usual, he’d end up trying to make the best out of it, which usually resulted in his stupid decisions that got him almost killed and given no other choice than to run away.

Why did he do this to himself?

He knew it was his own fault but he just couldn’t stop. He was someone who planned out what they were going to do carefully and precisely but when it came to it actually happening, it just wasn’t going to work out.

There was no reason to dwell on it; it was how his life was going to turn out so Kuroo just had to go with it, right?

Kuroo stood from his bed and opened the door, heading to the living room where Tsukishima sat on the couch. Kuroo sat on the other side and grouchily muttered to himself.

There was nothing said but Kuroo could feel the aura change in the room. Tsukishima was uncomfortable, he knew that much, but at that moment he couldn’t get himself to want to do anything about it.

It was also obvious that Tsukishima wanted to say something but wasn’t going to. Kuroo didn’t know why, but it agitated him, he just wanted Tsukishima to go out and say it because what’s one more thing added onto his plate to deal with?

 _“I hate this so much.”_ Kuroo almost yelled, muffling his voice with one of the couch pillows.

Still, no words were said from the other but Kuroo could tell once again that the aura had changed and Tsukishima was even more uncomfortable than before.

It also probably wasn’t the best idea to speak his problems out loud to someone who had gotten angry when he couldn’t supply a real answer for where he came from, if Tsukishima were to question this Kuroo couldn’t imagine how he’d respond.

There was a knock at the door and there was no question as to who would answer it.

“Hey, hey, hey!” He heard Bokuto’s loud voice echo from the door, his footsteps passing Tsukishima into the living room where Kuroo had remained, still looking as if he could kill a man. “What’s got you in a funk?”

“I’ll tell you later.” Kuroo grumbled, just wanting Bokuto to go away so he could wallow in his own self-pity.

“You know what always gets me out of a funk?” Bokuto sat too close for comfort next to Kuroo, but Kuroo couldn’t find it in himself to care enough to push him away. “Playing volleyball.”

“What?”

“Yeah! Me, you, Tsukki, and Akaashi! We could do 2v2!”

Volleyball was one of the human sports that intrigued Kuroo the most, but he knew that volleyball took more than two people per team. “Not enough people.” He muttered.

“Sure there are! We can work with this!”

“No offense, Bokuto,” Tsukishima spoke up, leaning against the wall closest to the front door. “But I don’t really want to play and don’t appreciate you volunteering me.”

“You guys are no fun.” Bokuto pouted. Kuroo swore he could see Bokuto’s hair spikes droop. “Akaashi was really looking forward to it…”

“I highly doubt that,” Tsukishima deadpanned. “I bet you haven’t even told him yet.”

“Wha—What! That’s not true! Tsukki, I would never! I’m appalled that you would think that of me!”

Kuroo felt a grin tugging at his mouth and he wasn’t reluctant to let it show.

“You are digging your own grave right now, Bokuto, give it up already.”

“Tsukki, if we weren’t such great friends, I’d think you hate me.”

“Good thing we aren’t friends then.”

At that Kuroo full out laughed. The other two turned towards him but that didn’t stop Kuroo from continuing. He wasn’t exactly sure what he found so funny, but it felt good to be laughing so he let it go on.

“Kuroo, why…” Bokuto pouted. It was the saddest look Kuroo had ever seen on someone but obviously fake. Bokuto was probably just playing along with it now because he enjoyed making others laugh.

“Don’t take it personally.” Kuroo said, wiping his eyes.

Bokuto scrunched his face and looked as if he was about to murder a man. Then he sighed. “Anyways, I came to give you your work schedule,” He winked, letting Kuroo know he wasn’t there for just that but to check up and make sure he and Tsukishima were doing okay. “So, yeah, here it is.” He walked and handed a piece of paper to Kuroo who took it with one hand, nodding his thanks. “You and Tsukki should go out and do something.”

Both spoke in protest but Bokuto ignored them and walked out the door with pep in his steps.

Tsukishima groaned when the door was closed and Bokuto had been gone for a few seconds. “He never gives up, god, how is he so social.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Kuroo frowned.

Tsukishima looked at him with a raised brow. “I mean… for me it is because I like staying home but I don’t know about you and how you go about your social life.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“I guess I’d rather stay here and hang out with you, then.” Kuroo grinned. It was another tactic to try and find out more about Tsukishima.

Tsukishima’s cheeks turned pink and Kuroo thought he was becoming sick, people didn’t turn different colors, did they?

“Are you okay..?” He asked slowly.

“Perfectly fine,” Tsukishima turned away and walked into the kitchen. “Absolutely fine, it’s kind of hot in here, do you want some ice water? I want some ice water.”

To say in the least, Kuroo was confused. Tsukishima’s sudden attitude change made Kuroo unsure what to think. Had he done something wrong? Was Tsukishima going to die or something?

No, humans didn’t die with that little of warning. That’s not how it worked. To Kuroo’s understanding, that is.

“Tsukki..?”

He didn’t think it was possible but even from behind Kuroo could tell Tsukishima’s face was changing color again.

“What?” Tsukishima’s voice cracked as he continued to try and keep himself busy and avoiding looking at Kuroo. “Why’d you call me Tsukki?”

Kuroo shrugged even though he knew Tsukishima couldn’t see. “Bokuto does so I thought it would be okay.” He knew Tsukishima had told Bokuto that he didn’t want him calling him that, but Kuroo decided to try his luck, there wasn’t more he could mess up by this point.

Tsukishima didn’t respond and hurriedly walked to his room, hiding his face away from Kuroo.

He wasn’t quite sure what he did, but it was obviously something.

-

-

The next day was Kuroo’s first day of work.

Was he excited?

In fact, he was so excited that he woke up a whole four hours earlier than he was supposed to.

He wasn’t really sure what to do with himself for four hours so he decided to just get up. When he walked out of his room he noticed that Tsukishima’s door was still shut. That wasn’t unusual, but he was pretty sure Tsukishima was still in there. He hadn’t seen him since he locked himself in there the night prior. Kuroo wasn’t sure if he should have been worrying or not but there wasn’t much he could do.

He knew Tsukishima didn’t listen to him.

Or to anyone for that matter.

Kuroo was pretty sure he had never dealt with someone so stubborn.

Kuroo’s stomach growled so he wandered to the kitchen in search of something to eat. He wanted to look for something that was premade, something he didn’t have to cook, but apparently that wasn’t an option.

Whatever, he had to eat something. How bad could it go?

Very bad.

The only thing that actually looked appetizing was the box of pancake mix, which inside wasn’t what was on the box but apparently what you used to make them.

So, Kuroo took out the supplies and decided he would just try and follow the instructions. Couldn’t be too hard.

He was proved wrong when the fire alarm was going off, screeching and hurting his ears.

A few seconds later Tsukishima dashed into the kitchen. “WHAT DID YOU DO?!” He yelled, covering his ears.

“I DON’T KNOW! IT JUST KINDA HAPPENED!”

“WELL FIX IT!”

“HOW DO I DO THAT?!”

Tsukishima ran and grabbed an oven mitt, then went to the pan and took it off the flame and threw the rest of the dry pancake mix on it. He was heavily breathing, hunched over, using one hand on his knee to balance and another clutching at his chest.

Kuroo stood there, waiting for the next thing to come.

“Tsukki—“

“You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Tsukishima yelled, interrupting him.

Kuroo flinched. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t talk to me right now.” Tsukishima heaved and he looked like he was about to cry. He quickly walked to his room and slammed the door shut.

Kuroo stood in the kitchen, alone and confused, staring at the wasted mix and burnt pancakes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> any mistakes feel free to let me know!
> 
> & i want to take a moment to acknowledge hq!! S2 Ep7  
> it was perfect and i was screaming


End file.
